Graveyard
by washed away again
Summary: Set post Season 5. They've retreated to Bon Temps hoping to buy themselves a little time to regroup. Sookie and Eric face each other for the first time since the break-up.
1. Chapter 1

**AN: Don't own any of these lovely characters of plot-points. **

**Takes place at the end of Season 5. The motley crew has retreated to Bon Temps in the hope that "Billith" will be able to be uninvited from Sookie's home, and buy them a day to regroup. **

She had sat here once before. Back then things had seemed dire but had actually been relatively simple. Back then betrayal had been the siring of Jessica. These days betrayal was rape and near death at the hands of her beloved back in Mississippi. And now the one person she had always run to was the one she was running from. Who knew if Bill was even a vampire anymore so who knew if she could even rescind his invitation? Whether their retreat back to Sookie's house provided even that shred of safety?

If I survive this, she decided, I'm going to get him a new grave stone. This time with his true death date, today. As it was at the moment, all she could do was trace the carved text that some other lover had chosen over a century ago.

"He did love you," a low, reluctant voice spoke behind her in the darkness.

"I know you don't mean it, but thanks for saying it," Sookie grumbled, wiping her tears away. She had always hated letting Eric see her cry, but if there was ever a day for tears, this was it. She felt Eric kneel down beside her and she turned to look at him. She was shocked to discover that his eyes were rimmed with red, and as she watched, he swallowed hard trying to quell his tears.

"Sookie, I am so sorry," he whispered.

"Shh, it's okay," she said, reaching up to cup his cheek. He grabbed her hand and clutched it to his chest.

"It's not your fault," she murmured, getting up on her knees and wrapping her arms around him. "If anyone should have been able to stop him it would have been me. I guess if I'm not reading people's minds I'm just a terrible judge of character."

"You're not. You were right about me, about my motivations, and by the time I changed it was too late, and I'm sorry for that. And he did love you, Sookie. If I ever had you believe otherwise it was to serve my own purposes."

"Don't worry, Eric. Believe it or not, I've never given a flying fuck what you said about Bill. I know he loved me. Just not enough." She felt tears welling up and she struggled to stay in control.

"I loved you enough," Eric whispered the words into her hair so quietly she could hardly make them out.

"Why are you saying these things?" Sookie drew back and held him at arm's length.

Eric sighed, and when he spoke his face and voice had resumed some of their usual nonchalance, for which Sookie was grateful. This solemn Eric was terrifying her.

"I'm old as fuck, Sookie. And for the first time, I'm tired. I am fucking tired. I'm not planning on making any extraordinary efforts to survive."

Sookie sighed. "I thought you were going to say something like that."

She stroked his cheek once and then turned back to Bill's grave.

"Well, I'll miss you. At least I won't have to miss you for long since I'm pretty sure _Billith_ will want me for his first meal."

Eric laughed and scooped her up into his lap, his fangs coming down with a click.

"That is if I haven't devoured you as my_ last_ meal first," he growled playfully, nipping at her neck. Sookie giggled and looped her arms around his neck.

"Tough decision. You both have such good qualifications. How will I ever choose?"

Eric laughed again and kissed the top of her head.

"I have loved four women in my life. The first was my human wife. I can hardly remember her now, but I know she was blonde with dark eyes, like you. Then for many centuries it was Norah. And my Pam. And you."

"I wanted to love you," Sookie replied sadly.

"You did," Eric disagreed, "As your elder I think I would know better than you. Compton should have been a blip on your radar, not the be all and end all of your life."

"Eric I have something terrible to ask you."

"What?" Eric asked suspiciously, pulling her away so he could see her eyes. "What?" He demanded, shaking her slightly.

"If and when Bill comes back to himself…if that's even possible…I don't want him to have killed me. He couldn't live with it." Sookie's eyes searched his for his comprehension.

Eric's face froze as Sookie's meaning sunk in and he pushed her off his lap, "You don't know what you're asking," he growled, backing away from her in horror.

"Eric, please," Sookie pleaded.

"You see me as a monster," he muttered in disbelief.

"Eric."

"NO!" He roared, suddenly lunging at her and pinning her to the ground beneath him.

"You truly hate me that much that you ask me to kill you to save Bill some guilt if he ever comes to his senses? I do not ever think I have been this deeply insulted," Eric hissed at her.

"You're right, I do hate you. But you're also the only person I trust right now. So don't flatter yourself," Sookie snapped at him.

Eric laughed grotesquely, his fangs descending again, and spoke with all the cruelty he could muster, "The scientist in me looks forward to finding out which tastes sweeter, the last drops of blood in your veins as your heart slows, or the blood from your femoral artery as you're coming."

Eric expected her to attempt to free herself or mock his sexual overtures as usual but instead she grinned wickedly.

"Would you like to give the latter another go now so it's a fair comparison? I wouldn't want a faded memory to skew your findings," she quipped, running a hand through his hair and then pulling it sharply.

Eric's smile faded and his tone once again became serious, "There's no fading memories of you, Sookie."

Before she could reply he was kissing her. His lips as velvety soft as she remembered and his tongue every bit as electric. Kissing Bill there was a constant hunger, a constant seeking. With Eric there was somehow always hunger and satisfaction at once, as if there was no linear cycle that went from desire to sated desire, but rather a constant ebb and flow. She was never satisfied, and yet she never felt the desperation that she felt with Bill. Ordinarily she would push those kinds of musings to the side for later consideration, but not this night. This night she had to memorize everything and make it her own, just in case she was allowed memories in Heaven.


	2. Chapter 2

Eric dragged a hand up her thigh, under the ridiculous nightgown she had changed into the second they'd gotten home, and dipped his fingers into her panties. Sookie moaned in anticipation. His hands were rough, as if his human calluses were somehow preserved in his immortality. When she had been a young girl the man in her fantasies was always a blue collar with calloused hands, although as she had grown up she had learned that type in Bon Temps was dramatically _not_ her type in reality. As Eric traced lazy circles on her inner thighs that got closer and closer to where she wanted them until finally circling hard on her clit once, breaking up with him suddenly seemed like the stupidest decision she had ever made. Clearly personality defects and good vs. evil matter very little if someone can use their fingers like _that_. She remembered their first night together, and how she had experienced her first multiple orgasm just at the touch of his hand. She groaned in frustration as he stopped his firm strokes and drew back, only to gasp when he flashed feather-light touches against her swollen, sensitive skin. While it was hard to pick a favorite part of making love with Eric, this would definitely be in the top 5.

After she was reduced to a quivering mess of over-wrought nerves, he finally undid his pants and entered her. As he began to move inside her, she found herself shaking uncontrollably, tears forming in her eyes and beginning to roll down her cheeks. Eric paused, unsure what to do. In 1,000 years of life this was a new experience, but then again, everything with Sookie was new.

"Don't stop," she ordered as sternly as she could under the circumstances, frantically wiping her tears.

He recommenced, measuring the expression on her face with each movement. Her gaze was fixed on his and soon she fell into his rhythm of movement just as he fell into her rhythm of breathing. He knew many vampires who purposefully and uselessly breathed during sex in order to recreate their humanity, or connect with their victims or some such shit. He had never done it, until the first time he made love with Sookie, and somehow, without meaning to, he was breathing in time to the beating of her heart. Objectively speaking, he had had far better fucks in his 1,000 year existence, but absolutely nothing would ever compare to the time he'd spent with Sookie.

Sookie's orgasm shook more tears into her eyes, and Eric struggled to follow her to his own release watching the emotion on her face. With relief more than anything, Eric climaxed silently, feeling further away from her than he'd been before they'd made love. When he rolled off her, Sookie turned away to face the grave again.

"I do love you," she whispered, reaching behind her to take Eric's hand and wrap his arm around her. He stroked her hair idly for a few moments before speaking.

"I need to speak to my sister about our plan. Come, lover."

"I need a minute…to say goodbye," Sookie turned to face Eric briefly, and gave him a slight smile before turning back to face the grave.

Eric pressed a kiss to the top of her head, and made his way back towards the farmhouse. He had taken all of ten steps out of the graveyard when he saw Norah waiting for him in the darkness of Sookie's front lawn. She was pacing anxiously with her arms crossed over her chest. He rushed to her side and wrapped his arms around her. She gratefully returned his embrace.

"How is she?" She murmured, snuggling into her brother. Eric knew Norah was alarmed by her brother's affection for the human, but trying her best to put her opinions aside.

Eric shook his head slightly. "I don't know. I've never seen her like this before." He found himself anxious, a rare emotion for him. He had felt this kind of anxiety only once before, and that had been when he had knelt on a rooftop with Godric just before dawn.

"Well, it's understandable. None of us have ever faced anything like this before, even we who are hundreds of years old. I find myself wondering what I would do…what sort of shape I'd be in…if it had been Salome, and not Bill…"

"Shh," Eric soothed at hearing Norah's voice tighten as she voiced the thought. He had often thought of Norah, and resented the way she had abandoned him for the mysterious, ancient vampire and all the secrets she offered. Having met Sookie, he believed he now understood how a vampire could so fall under the spell of another. If he could be so at the mercy of a human, who was he to judge his sister for losing her sense of reason?

"Truly, it was merciful. What happened to Salome I mean," Norah's voice shook. She stepped out of Eric's arms and resumed her pacing. She visibly tried to regain her composure before continuing,

"I know that I've joked that I was Godric's favorite. But I always knew that I was somehow an afterthought, a companion he made for you when you were getting restless. In many ways Salome felt like she was my mother."

"I know," Eric replied, "And that is why I never for a moment resented your involvement with the Authority, or your religious beliefs, because I knew I was at least partly to blame. I never resented your loyalty to Salome, but I did resent your love for her."

Norah smiled faintly, "You think it is easy hearing you proclaim your love for her?"

Eric looked down at his feet and waited for her to continue.

"Have you considered…are you going to turn her?"

"Obviously you missed the first part of the conversation in which she asked me to kill her should it come to that in order to save our favorite übervamp some guilt should he ever return to his senses."

Norah laughed lightly, "First of all, Bill never had any senses to begin with. And second of all, that's ridiculous and you know it. She was just testing the waters so to speak. She was one breath away from asking you to turn her. Trust me I would know. You'll see."


	3. Chapter 3

_Flashback_

_ "I think you may be the tastiest thing I have ever eaten," Eric whispered into his meal's hair. _

_ "I've heard Italian girls are better," the girl quipped, running her hands over her body in amazement at the sensations she had just experienced. "The men who pass through always rave about the Italian and Spanish women they've had and the things they're willing to do."_

_ "I have had Italian girls, as well as English girls by the score, and truly, you are exceptional. And I have yet to find something that you find objectionable to participate in," Eric stretched out as much as he could in the inn's small bed. He and Godric had stopped in some small town three days ago, with just the one inn, with an elderly couple living in it, who had easily been glamoured into renting out their cellar to the strange vampire couple. Eric had expected seducing this little British blossom to be difficult, since small town girls tended to be prudish and very concerned with reputation, but this girl had literally jumped into his bed with no hesitation._

_ She laughed, "I would give you a compliment but I'm not sure your ego can take much more. Besides, any compliment would be meaningless since I have no previous lovers to compare you to."_

_ "A compliment doesn't necessitate a comparison."_

_ "My, my, now doesn't he just love his ego stroked."_

_ "I can think of a few others things I like stroked as well."_

_ Norah laughed again, this time louder. "I keep thinking I'm going to wake up and this will all have been a dream."_

_ Eric chuckled at the thought of the sweet little virgin (virgin until two days prior that is) having a dream this lurid, and then sobered slightly at the thought of leaving her behind in a matter of days. He and Godric had been nomadic as of late, and he did not relish the idea of explaining to his maker that he wanted to delay their trip because of some British toy. _

_ "So what is exactly is your blood doing to me?" Norah asked, "I like it. I feel very different somehow."_

_ "You are different," he replied evenly, admiring her naked body. She was magnificent. Pale, soft skin and lean muscles from daily hard work. _

_She frowned slightly at his evasion of the question, but admittedly she was a complete stranger, and was she in his position, she would not trust easily either._

_ "How many more days will you be here?" She asked as she sat up in bed and began rummaging in the sheets for her petticoat. _

_ "Stay," Eric commanded, gripping her wrist. _

_ "I can't, it's almost dawn," she replied regretfully, "But I will come to you tomorrow at dusk. I wish it could always be night."_

_ She impulsively leaned down and placed a proprietary kiss on his forehead before getting dressed and sneaking back to her home next door. _

_ It was not long before Godric entered the cellar to find Eric sitting in a corner sulking._

_ "Don't tell me you didn't have a good time, Eric," Godric joked, wiping the last traces of blood from his mouth. _

_ Eric continued to sit in stony silence._

_ "Well, I at least had a good dinner. He was very feminine, not to my usual tastes, but surprisingly strong. I had to glamour him to make him more pliable."_

_ Eric grunted his acknowledgment. He would never disagree with anything Godric did, Godric after all was God in his eyes, but Eric himself preferred willing victims. And there had never been a scarcity of women and men willing to do anything to please him. Whether or not the feed ended in a kill, Eric seldom if ever used glamour on his prey. It was egotistical, certainly, but he wanted them to remember him till their dying breath, whether that breath be in five minutes or 50 years later. And with the current social climate with its fear of witchcraft, no victim was going to confess to having a supernatural experience of any kind. It made Europe a perfect playground. _

_ Godric sighed and crossed the dank space to his child and ran his fingers through the Viking's long blonde hair. _

_ "We could stay a few extra days if you'd like," he offered kindly, tipping Eric's face up to his and kissing him lightly on the lips._

_ "Wouldn't make any difference," Eric grumbled, turning away. _

_ Godric sighed again and began undressing for bed. When he had opened the lid to the storage chest they had been curling up in and Eric still had not moved, Godric crossed the room and knelt before his son._

_ "Look at me, Eric," Godric begged. It had been getting harder and harder lately to hold Eric's attention. "Please," he whispered._

_ Finally Eric made eye contact and Godric almost flinched at the iciness of his glance. However, his face softened after gazing into his maker's face for a moment and when he spoke his voice was gentle,_

_ "I don't know what's wrong with me, Godric." _

_ The admission was all that Godric needed to hear to know that Eric's time with him was limited. Nothing was wrong with him, he was just growing up. _

_ "I have a present for you, Eric," Godric exclaimed gleefully two nights later, opening the lid of the trunk to wake his child. _

_ "You did not come back last night. You worried me," Eric replied. He was not in a happy mood since Norah had only stayed briefly the previous night and had left rather abruptly. She had seemed enthusiastic at first, and then grew more and more distant. _

_ "Yes, I'm sorry," Godric impatiently dragged Eric out of the trunk and up the cellar stairs into the night, "Aren't you excited about your present?"_

_ "Godric, you never fail to surprise me," Eric smiled, his mood improving. His maker had given him "presents" before, and they had always been highly enjoyable. _

_ They walked a few more paces into the glade of trees behind the inn before Godric made Eric close his eyes. _

_ "Now open," Godric commanded a few seconds later._

_ There she stood, dressed in a beautiful white gown, her skin paler than ever before. _

_ Eric positively froze. She looked like a doll. So unlike how she had been two nights prior, her body flushed and sweaty beneath him. _

_ "I made her for you," Godric stated the obvious, trying to shake Eric from his reverie. _

_ "Hello, Eric."_

_ Her voice broke the spell and Eric rushed to her, touching her hair, her face, smelling her, testing her, seeing if she was real and still the same. _

_ "Is this what you wanted?" He asked her huskily after kissing her thoroughly._

_ "Of course. Shame it had to be your maker. I was rather hoping my first night in my new life would be spent with you. Silly Viking, I had all but begged you to do it."_


	4. Chapter 4

The following sunset Eric awoke in the cubby he'd built in Sookie's house. His younger roommates still slept on, and he found himself jealous of their ability to "sleep in" as it were. He quietly ascended to the main floor and shut the armoire door behind him. He turned to his right to find Sookie sitting on the stairs with a shotgun propped up against the wall beside her, and a stake in her hands. Her eyes were trained on the front door. Eric could feel the tension rolling off her in waves.

The previous night very little planning had gotten done. Unsurprisingly, Pam's idea had been to run and hide, which Tara and Norah happily seconded. Jessica adamantly disagreed, that Bill was her maker and even though he was completely fucking nuts she wasn't going to run and hide. If he needed to be killed, then they'd kill him. At that statement Sookie had clammed up and not spoken another word. Eric himself agreed with Jessica, but was not nearly as optimistic about the simplicity of the strategy. Jason had done a lot of yelling but it was unclear where he stood. However, he had gone home for the night and was planning on going back to the police station in the morning. The vampires had gone to ground without any plan being made. Now it was night once more and it was time to make some decisions.

"Did you sleep?" Eric asked her. Sookie shrugged in reply and set her stake aside. Eric took that as the invitation that it was and sat down beside her. She immediately leaned against his shoulder, and he wrapped his arm around her, a foreign gesture for him but in this moment it felt completely natural.

"What are we going to do?" Sookie asked wearily. She already knew he agreed with Jessica. She was just hoping she'd have one last chance to try to bring Bill back to himself.

"Jessica is right. I am going to send Norah to Washington to attempt to prevent an all-out war on vampires but as far as we are concerned the government will be of little help."

Sookie nodded and when she spoke it was very slowly, haltingly, "Do you think there's any chance…for Bill?"

"For the creature Bill has become? Yes. He will most likely destroy us all. For Bill the vampire you thought you knew? No."

They sat in silence for a few seconds, Eric absentmindedly stroking her back as his mind worked a million miles a minute.

"Why didn't Bill turn me?" Sookie asked suddenly.

Eric fingers froze in their lazy circles, "Why do you ask?"

Sookie looked down at her hands in her lap. "That was the one thing…when he asked me to marry him…I thought he was going to ask something else."

"What would you have said?" Eric asked, far too invested in her answer than he would like.

"It doesn't really matter, does it?"

"Yes, Sookie, it matters a great deal," Eric replied fiercely, turning her to face him.

Sookie swallowed and met his eyes with great difficult, "I would have said no."

"You're lying," Eric replied, his mouth set in a hard line.

"I don't particularly look forward to spending eternity alone, thanks for the offer though," Sookie said wryly, easily reading between the lines. Eric's eyes were incredibly soft when he spoke next.

"If it were me who asked."

"We'll never know, will we?" She said as flippantly as she could under the circumstances, and looked back down at her hands. Eric grabbed her chin and lifted her face to look at him.

"I'm asking now."

Sookie smiled softly. She had been wondering when it would come to this. And as much as she'd tried to prepare herself, she didn't have her answer yet. But looking into Eric's eyes now, and the hopefulness there, the hopefulness he could still feel after 1,000 years, she felt a renewed weariness.

"Eric," Sookie started quietly, patiently, "You're upset. You're sad about what happened with Pam and looking to fill a void. But you and I both know that in the end, you're going to get bored with me."

Eric's voice was deadly quiet, "If that's what you believe."

"Eric, it's the truth. And I don't blame you. But I also don't want to sign up for an eternity of misery wishing things were different between us, that you were different."

"You would have said yes to Bill," Eric accused.

"Fine! Yes, I would have!"

"Then don't you think despite your telepathy you are perhaps not the best judge of character. After all we are preparing for a full-scale war against your ex."

Sookie smacked him across the face as hard as she could.

"Now isn't that a pleasant sight to wake up to," Pam drawled from where she was lazily leaning on the armoire.

"Pamela, would you please give us a minute?" Eric growled without looking at his progeny.

"Oh but this is so much fun," Pam gushed sarcastically, "It's like I'm constantly watching the "previously seen on" this fucking soap opera that my existence has become ever since the day Sookie Stackhouse walked into my damn bar."

"What did Sookie do?" Tara interjected as she climbed up the ladder.

"Nothing," Pam answered smoothly before Sookie could get a word in, "As usual she is making no decisions of her own."

"Pamela, that is enough," Eric spoke quietly but with deadly conviction.

Norah and Jessica appeared in the foyer as well, all eyes glued on Eric.

"Norah is going to Washington, immediately," he commanded, standing up and crossing the room to stand in front of the vampires before him.

Norah nodded obediently, her eyes seeking Eric's for reassurance.

"You can't be serious, Eric," Pam cautioned, "You would willingly risk our lives involving the government?"

He sighed, understanding very well Pam's fears, since he had raised her to hold no regard for vampire governments, and even less for human ones. His voice ringing with regret he replied,

"We have no choice. It is unlikely we stand a chance against Bill and it needs to be made clear that he poses a threat not only to humans but to vampires and other supes as well. There needs to be an action plan should we fail."

Pam and Jessica nodded grudgingly. Tara's eyes never left Pam's face. Once her Maker reacted, she followed suit. Sookie watched in amazement the change that had come over her childhood best friend.

"We can assume that Bill will be here any moment. Pam, Tara, Jessica, please guard the perimeter. Should he be bringing any fire power with him, we will need that neutralized. When he reaches me and Sookie, he must be alone. Is that clear?"

Everyone nodded this time, and Pam, Jessica, and Tara hastily left the house and assumed their positions. On her way out, Jessica gave Sookie a sheepish smile and wave before darting out into the night. Pam and Tara left without sparing a glance for either Eric or Sookie, and Sookie wondered what could possibly have been so terrible that her best friend did not even so much as look in her direction when she might never see her again. Now only Eric, Norah, and Sookie remained. Sookie had not moved, except to pick up her stake.

Norah hesitated in the doorway, trying to catch her brother's eye before leaving. He crossed to her and folded her into his arms, tucking his head down into the crook of her neck.

"Do the right thing, brother," she whispered into his ear. Eric nodded solemnly, and Norah stepped outside and took to the sky.

"Now where were we," Eric purred, turning back to face Sookie.

She couldn't help but grin at the overt come-on.

"We were discussing how you're going to get tired of me."

"Shall we make a bet? Say, a million dollars? You win if after 500 years I have tired of your companionship."

"A million dollars? I don't have that kind of money!"

"You will in 500 years," Eric replied evenly.

"In all seriousness, Eric…"

"No. In all seriousness, Sookie, you have had two sexual partners in your twenty-odd years of life. You loved them both. You have little room for comparison or appreciation for what either one had to offer. I, on the other hand, have fucked hundreds of men and women over a millennium, and yet still I feel confident saying I would be content with you and you alone for the next millennium. Is it not more likely that you would grow tired of me, given these circumstances?"

He was here. Sookie froze, her eyes widening in fear, her blood throttling through her body and she stood shakily. Eric turned slowly to find himself face to face with Bill in all his naked bloody splendor on Sookie's front porch.


	5. Chapter 5

"Sookie, would you be so kind as to invite me in?"

Sookie took a hesitant step forward. She wasn't sure what her body was doing, whether it was trying to get closer to Eric for his protection, or to Bill to do…what exactly she didn't know but she felt oddly out of control.

"Sookie," Eric cautioned, his hand reaching back to her to order her to stay in place.

"She feels me, Eric," Bill explained, "She feels the call of my blood. Even humans can smell, can practically _taste_, the divinity of my blood, and the salvation it will bring them."

"Sookie, stay back," Eric ordered, his voice cracking in fear. He could not remember ever having been so afraid, so helpless against a foe so unfamiliar.

"No, let her come to me. Let the children come to me, Lillith said."

Sookie spoke with all the certainty of a Southern Christian woman, "My Lord and Savior said that. Who the fuck is Lillith and why does she think she's God?"

And with that Sookie lunged at Bill. Before Eric could react, she and Bill were locked in a desperate embrace. As Eric struggled to pull her out of Bill's grasp, he heard two sounds that would have stopped his heart had it still been beating: the simultaneous sound of Sookie staking Bill and Sookie's throat being torn open. Instead of exploding into a pile of blood, Bill disappeared into thin air, and Sookie crumpled to the ground, blood gushing from her destroyed neck.

Eric grabbed her into his arms, frantically applying pressure to the gaping wound with one hand, attempting to somehow put her back together, while biting into his other wrist.

"I need your permission, Sookie," Eric demanded. Her eyes were wide open in shock and her lips fluttered uselessly.

"Goddamn it Sookie, tell me what to do!" He shook her slightly and her head lolled from side to side, her eyes drifting shut.

"500 years," he thought he heard her whisper and that was enough for him. And with that he poured his blood into her mouth.


End file.
